Cape Town - South Africa fast bowler, Kagiso Rabada, arrived in England this week to begin a stint with Kent County Cricket club.
The quick will have a short stint with the county, before returning to South Africa for the Proteas clash with New Zealand.
Rabada revealed he was familiar with new teammates, Sam Billings and Tom Latham, saying: “I’m not here for long, just over a month, but hopefully it’ll be a good month. I’m trying to get the most out of it for sure. I know Sam Billings and Tom Latham, we’ve come across each other playing IT20, but the rest of the lads have welcomed me with open arms too."
The exciting speedster was eager to get off to a great start: “We’ve got the Sharks first up who have Luke Wright in their side and I know what a good player he can be,
“No game is easy in T20, but it’s important for me to start off well and contribute in a way that enables Kent to win this game and improve in this tournament.
“Generally I open up and then have another couple of overs at the death for South Africa, but it’s all down to the coach and captain here and the match situation too. It’s all about how they feel I’ll be most handy."
The man from Johannesburg drew attention to a strong link between Kent, and South African cricket: “I put my name forward to a few counties, but Kent were quick to come in and give me this chance to play county cricket, so I took it up,
“There’s a rich vain that runs between the cricket in Kent and South Africa. In recent years Justin Kemp, Ryan McLaren, Martin van Jaarsveld, Vernon Philander, Wayne Parnell, Morne Morkel and Makhaya Ntini have all been here, so it almost feels like I’m coming home.
“Having had a quick look at the ground the slopes are a little similar to The Wanderers ground back home, so I don’t see that being a problem and I’m sure I’ll adapt. If I make early mistakes I’ll try and rectify them as soon as possible.”
Rabada can only make a maximum of eight appearances for Kent but the young man will be keen to learn all he can from his county stint.